Discernment: Noticing and Responding to the Promptings of the Spirit

Integral to the spiritual life is the process of becoming who we are created to become and growing in awareness of God’s call to us for the benefit of the world. In discernment we seek to know our deepest, truest self. In this core place we discover God present and active. Discernment is a seeking of God’s presence and invitation, a seeking to be in harmony with the goodness and power of God.

St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, is considered the Father of Discernment. His ability to name his experiences of discernment and the movement of the Spirit as he experienced them in his own life led him to articulate patterns that have been used in discernment for hundreds of years.

The Consciousness Examen, Ignatius prayerful reflection on each day, is a simple and very helpful tool for discernment. Everyone can use this tool as it takes only a few moments each day. In the Examen Ignatius invites us to review the day with an eye to noticing when we moved with or toward God and also to notice when we moved away from or against God. Through the Examen we are invited to look for the experience of God’s presence or seeming absence in each day.

Ignatius, who also wrote the Spiritual Exercises, offers us many techniques for working with discernment in our own time. For Ignatius, all of life is revelatory, there is nowhere God is not. Ignatius teaches us that God speaks to us in all events and through all things.

Discernment then is an ongoing process in which we use all our abilities: sensing, intuition, thinking, paying attention both within and outside ourselves, and to our experiences in prayer in order to grow in awareness of God’s movement within and among us. Learning to notice is an important skill in discernment. Noticing what Ignatius calls “inner movements” as they occur in body, mind, heart and soul help us to sense and name God’s invitations.

Once God’s invitation seems clear it will be time to “try it out” or “try it on”. The invitation is God’s, the choice to respond is ours.

As we anticipate being together for this day of retreat on discernment let us pray for one another using the poetry of J. Philip Newell in the Sounds of the Eternal:

Thanks be to you, O God

Thanks be to you, O God
For the stirrings of new life in me this day,
For rising from the dreams of the night
To a fresh flowing of energy,
For the vitality that awakened my body
And the desires that stir my soul.
Let me know the power for life that is in me,
The life-force that is in my senses
And the might that is in my heart.
Let me know you as the source of such force
And be wise to its true streams and false currents.
Let me serve love with my strength this day,
Let me serve love with my strength.
In heart and mind and body this day
Let me serve love.


Wishing you all peace this day and an ongoing noticing of the movement of God within and around you,

Andree Grafstein

Spiritual Life Center

Epiphany 2011

by Fr. William Meninger, O.C.S.O.

In the Western Church Epiphany is traditionally celebrated on January 6th. The time differs in other churches, for example, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany on January 19. The name of the feast also differs even among the Western Catholic churches. It is known variously as the feast of Kings or the feast of the Magi, Twelfth Night or, as we call it, Epiphany, which means an appearance or revelation. In order to facilitate the celebration of this feast, the church has changed its date from 12 days after Christmas, January 6, to the first Sunday after New Years which in 2011 falls on January 2, today.

It would probably be more correct to say that Epiphany is not 12 days after Christmas but rather that Christmas is 12 days before Epiphany. This is because Epiphany was celebrated first and it was probably several generations later that the church decided to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ, on December 25, the first day of winter, the day when the sun once again begins to lengthen the days. The church simply did what she frequently does and baptized a pagan feast day, the feast of the Unconquerable Sun, simply because of its appropriateness. Actually the church did the same thing for Epiphany. It is a baptism of the celebration of the feast of Dionysius the god of wine as it was probably celebrated in Alexandria. It was thought that at midnight on this feast, the god, Dionysius, turned the waters of all the fountains into wine. The blessing of water so that it may become wine or, indeed, the blood of Christ, suggested to Christians two other important feast days celebrated on or close to this time. One was the feast of the baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The connection is that when this happened the waters of the Jordan did not cleanse Christ but rather he cleansed all the waters of the world by his touch. The other feast is the wedding feast at Cana when Jesus changed water into wine. All three of these festivals, Epiphany, Christ's baptism and the wedding feast, celebrate beginnings. The beginnings of Christ's ministry to the world on Epiphany, the beginnings of his active ministry on his baptism in the Jordan, and the beginnings of his seven signs manifesting who he really was, at the wedding feast.

The wise man who brought gifts to the child Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge him as king and who revealed him to the wider world. This was to fulfill the blessing of Simeon that "This child would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles." Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and the work of God would not be limited to only a few.

This day is now observed as a time to focus on the mission of the church in reaching out to others by showing Jesus as the savior of all people. It is also a time of focusing on Christian brotherhood and fellowship, especially in healing the divisions of prejudice and bigotry that we all too often create between God's children.

Please join with me now in this Epiphany prayer by which we may personally concretize the message and meaning of the feast we are celebrating.

Father, we thank you for revealing yourself to us in Jesus the Christ, we who once were not your people but whom you chose to adopt as your people. As ancient Israel confessed long ago, we realized that it was not because of our own righteousness, or our own superior wisdom, or strength, or power, or our numbers. It was simply because you loved us and you chose to show us that love in Jesus.

As you have accepted us when we did not deserve your love, will you help us to accept those whom we find it hard to love? Forgive us, O Lord, for any attitude that we harbor that on any level sees ourselves as better or more righteous than others. Will you help us to remove the barriers of prejudice and to tear down the walls of bigotry, religious or social? Oh Lord, help us realize that the walls that we erect for others only form our own prisons!

Will you fill us so full of your love that there is no more room for intolerance. As you have forgiven us much, will you enable us with your strength to forgive others even more? Will you enable us through your abiding presence among us, communally and individually, to live our lives in a manner worthy of the Name we bear?

May we, through your guidance, and our faithful obedience, find new avenues, in ways that we have not imagined, of holding the Light of your love so that it may be a Light of revelation for all people.

Thank you for your love, we praise you for your gift, ask for your continued presence with us, and we make these petitions in the name of your son, who has truly revealed your heart. Amen

May you be happy,
May you be free,
May you be loving,
May you be loved.

Fr. William Meninger, O.C.S.O.

Click here to join Fr. Meninger for an upcoming Centering Prayer Retreat at Holy Family on February 18-20, 2011.

Can Yoga Bring Peace On Earth?

This Christmas I bought a royal blue garden flag with a wings extended white dove and the words PEACE ON EARTH. I carefully placed it on a wrought iron pole and stuck it in the lawn near my condo door. It looked great until I got up the next morning, and found the flag so twisted you could not see the bird never mind any inspirational words. I fixed it the next day, but the howling December winds continued to mangle the message. On December 26, 2010 my PEACE ON EARTH plump dove was buried under two feet of drifting blizzard snow.

Fortunately I know a metaphor when I see it. Peace on Earth has mighty forces fighting against it. For over thirty years my Somers middle school social studies students and I started September with the International Peace Day celebration. We then went week after week examining the Dark Ages of Medieval European history intermingled with US current events. “Where in the World Is the Latest Conflict” might as well be the new digital download as we worked to locate new global hotspots.

So what's a peace loving person to do? Is it possible to be hopeful in the midst of so much turmoil in this fast paced world? I'd like to offer a suggestion that I found on a card at the Holy Family Bookstore. The card reads: "PEACE. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." I repeated this message at my Full of Grace Gentle Yoga class at St. Mary's in Windsor Locks. I could tell by the yogis smiles and head nodding that these words resonated with them. During our practice we learn to use the ancient art of yogic breath and asana positions to unite our mind, body and spirit to create a healthy, peaceful, faithfilled life. The ancient practice of yoga demonstrates peaceful practices and gives us the tools to bring light to our world. Yogis honor their bodies and develop strength for the days ahead. We know we can not stop the ocean waves from crashing against the shore, but we can learn to surf and ride the turbulent tides. Holy Family is a peaceful place to learn and practice yoga. I extend to you an invitation to my February 5^th program called Yoga with the Saints. The purpose is to enjoy yoga and learn from the inspirational contemplative saints of Ireland and India how to survive and thrive on the waves of life.

Christmas Wonder

One of the greatest joys of being a father has been the chance to tip-toe into the glow of my children's faces as they turn on the Christmas lights each morning over these Advent days. Pink fingers comb back static hair and chipping toenail polish peeks out from beneath fairy nightgowns. They giggle with a combination of delight and accomplishment. “This is the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown,” I think to myself. Unlike us, they seem to live with that glow not just on Christmas morning but everyday whether swinging on the swings or uncapping their favorite Sharpie or even flushing the toilet. Their secret, which we adults seem to miss, is that they look with this same Christmas wonder at a pile of fallen leaves or a shiny pair of orange-handled scissors.

We are the ones who have skillfully divided life into pleasures and chores. For adults, wonder is stingily rationed to a few greeting card moments each year when we slow our minds long enough to really appreciate the unnoticed gifts that flood our lives each day. Perhaps, children know better the sacredness of each moment, perhaps because they haven’t yet learned that there is an alternative.

They know that December 26 is as exciting and filled with possibility as the day before. It’s the day our children will toss aside Christmas presents only to play with the cardboard boxes that contained them a day before. It’s the day when they will dance the limbo with all the used ribbons tied together. It’s the day when they will plead to devour stale Christmas cookies for breakfast. It’s the day when we will all jump in bed together and have a WWF wrestling match until daddy hurts himself. It’s the day when they will go into the craft closet and find another blank page on which they will draw their lives--one rainbow and one flower at a time. It’s the day when their sleepy footsteps will stumble downstairs and stand before a tree to rival its lights with their glowing eyes.

We wish you bright eyes, wide hearts, and the wonder of ordinary things this year. May you enjoy the December 26ths of your life with the same richness and sacredness that fill your Christmas morning.

Advent Blessings,

Brandon, Susan, Sophia, and Ellie Nappi

First Empty Your Cup

Will your mind ever slow down? Anxious about tomorrow, obsessed about yesterday, the mind resists living in the only moment it is ever been afforded: the NOW. We have trained our minds to engage in endless cycles of judgment, commentary, and analysis. Could there be a way to gently quiet the mental cacophony that has become the omnipresent background noise of our lives?

“Keep watch with me.” The words of Jesus from Gesthemani echoed in my head as I set my sleepy body upon the cushion in the dimly lit meditation hall. Fr. Robert Kennedy, a Jesuit priest and Zen teacher entered the room, planted a glowing stick of incense into a bowl of sand, and assumed his place at the front of the room. A copper bell rang three times to begin a 3 day meditation retreat. Its steady vibrations drew me and my breath into the most reliable place where we can meet God--in the silence. Over the next three days, he would teach us, by what he said and by what le left unsaid, about how Zen practice can be used by the faithful Christian to grow closer to Christ.

Fr. Kennedy has become the unofficial translator of Zen practice to a growing number of Christians who have integrated Zen meditation into the Christian life as a way to empty the mind and put on the mind of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 2.16). When asked why he turned to Zen while serving as a missionary in Japan, he responded: “I wanted a faith that was deeper, that was rooted in my experience, that was not a theory that could be blown away with a change in culture. . . . Christianity is not a triumphal march to the Kingdom. It is an emptying of self. This profound teaching of Christian life is very close to Buddhism. Buddhism tries to empty ourselves of a false identity and to come to the world as naked and as crucified as Christ was.”[1][1]

Nearly 30 years later, Fr. Kennedy has received the title roshi, or “old teacher” in the Zen tradition. As a committed Christian, priest, and Zen teacher, Fr. Kennedy has helped thousands to grow closer to Christ by helping them to empty their minds so they might be filled with the mind of Christ.

Fr. Kennedy tells a famous Zen story tells of a man who went to visit a Zen master. First, the old master served tea. He filled his guest's cup to the brim and then kept on pouring. The tea spilled over the sides of the cup, until the astonished man could no longer hold his polite silence. “Stop!” he cried. “No more will go in!” The master quietly replied, “Like this cup, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

The Christian, inspired by this Zen insight, might likewise ask: how can we put on the mind of Christ, unless our mental space is emptied of its desires, judgments, and incessant mental chatter? A community of Christians will gather to ponder this question on November 12-14 at Holy Family where Fr. Kennedy will lead a weekend retreat entitled, Zen Spirit-Christian Spirit which explores the role of Zen practice in the Christian life. For more information, visit http://www.holyfamilyretreat.org/.

Brandon Nappi D.Min, PhD

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[1][1]Robert E. Kennedy, S.J., “Interview with Fr. Robert Kennedy, S.J,” interview by Tom Fox, National Catholic Reporter website, available at ncrcafe.org/node/1057 (accessed 11 September 2008).

James Carroll at Holy Family

Holy Family welcomes author James Carroll on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 for a day and evening retreat.

Click here to read what the L. A. Times says about Practicing Catholic by James Carroll.

The OUT Experience

Perhaps the best therapy for any illness, whether mental or any kind of phyiscal suffering, is what I call the OUT experience, the "Oh U Too" story exhcnage with another person or with the God of your understanding and inspriation. Story-exchange and prayer remind me that I'm not alone in the recovery and discovery journey of life. Here's a true story that actually happened to me.

"How'd I ever get here, in a mental hospital?" I asked myself as I sat in a white plastic chair just outside the front door of the hospital overlooking a little pond and some meandering ducks. As I sat there in my hospital attire I mocked myself repeatedly, "You're nuts, crazy, loony, bonkers, worthless, and you'll never work again."

While my self-condemnation continued, another patient came through the hospital doors, limped toward the empty chair next to me and sat down.

"Miss Arrrgnus is what they call me," the beautifully black woman said, as she leaned on the white plastic chair.

I presumed her name was actually Agnes but enjoyed the rolling sound of the extra "r's." Miss Arrrgnus slowly began to tell me her story.

"So what you in for Honey?" she finally asked.

"Depression," I answered

"I come here every now and then to get away from my family," she said.

I shocked myself with a little laugh, the first time I'd laughed in weeks.

"First time in a streeeeeeesssss unit?" Miss Arrrgnus then asked.

" Yes," I answered.

"What kind of work you do, Honey," she asked.

"I'm a Catholic priest," I said hesitantly.

"Never met one of you before," Miss Arrrgnus said. "I'll ask the people in my fellowship church to pray for you."

After a long uncomfortable pause Miss Arrrgnus spoke up again. "Come on, Honey, stop your brain strain. Help me out of this chair and let's go to the meeting the druggies are having in the conference room. The company will be good for you. Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet are recovering addicts. No nonsense there, Honey."

As we walked through the door, Miss Arrrgnus leaned heavily on my arm as though I were a crutch. I recalled at that moment an old saying: "I'd rather limp through life on the right road than run down the wrong."

To walk, Miss Arrrgnus and I had to lean forward and risk losing our balance and falling with each step. We had to let go of our previous stability, trusting that with each step there would be a new foundation, a new stability. It was good to walk with such an honorable and honest woman. This, thankfully, would not be the last time Miss Arrrgnus gracefully interrupted my isolation. Every day during our hospital stay Miss Arrrgnus and I sat with each other for lunch and would offer a prayer, not only for the food we were about to eat, but in thanksgiving for what God was giving us - the promise of Hope that if we continued the great practice of story-exchange with friends, family, companions in recovery, therapists, psychiatrists and God, we would discover a new way of living.